Leo daft



(No Model.)

L. DAFT.

ELECTRICAL RAILWAY GONDUGTOR.

Patented Sept. 4, 1888.

IZZY-5222221" 2% p aim gi W;

Unirnn STATES A'IFNT @rrrcn.

LEO DAFT, OF PLAINFIELD, NEXV JERSEY.

ELECTRlCAL RAILWAY=CONDUGTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 388,955, datedSeptember 4,1888.

Application filed Ortobcr 16, 1885.

To 6025 whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEO DAFT, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain,and a resident of llaiufield, in the county of Union and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectricalRailway Conductors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of electrical railways in which aconducting bar or rail is arranged adjacent to the rails of the railway;and my invention consists in constructing and supporting theconducting-rail and in forming the connection with the bars, as fullyset forth hereinafter, so as to prevent any loss of the current, insurethe contact of the conductor and devices for taking off the current, andprevent the surface of the conductor from being obstructed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse section of suiiicieut of anelectrical railway to illustrate my improvements. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section. Fig. 3is a cross-section illustrating modifiedforms of supports. Figs. 4 and 5 are views illustrating an improveddevice for taking off the current from the conductor.

A A represent longitudinal stringers arranged parallel to each other andseparated sufficieutly to permit the desired connection to be madebetween a conductor below the stringers and a car traveling upon therails a. As represented, the stringers A are on a higher plane than therails a; but the faces of the stringers may be on the same plane as thefaces of the rails, as is sometimes required for instance, instreet-railways. The stringers are supported'by blocks 13, whichmaintain them and the conductors supported by the stringers in anelevated position, thereby preventing the conductor from beingobstructed by particles which would collect around it if it rested uponits bearings without any space being beneath.

The conductor is represented by a rail, D, which is suspended in anysuitable manner from the stringers A, so as to be insulated therefrom. Adifferent means of insulating the suspending devices or rail will occurto those skilled in the art. I have shown insnlators O, to which thesuspending devices are connected.

Serial No. 180,040. (No model.)

The insulators may be made of glass, hard rubber, or any other suitableinsulating material, and may be dovetail in form to fit dovetailedsockets in the stringers A, as best shown in Fig. 2; orthe insulatorsmay be screwed into the sockets or otherwise attached. The insulator mayalso consist of a compound iron and glass, hard rubber, or fiber similarto that shown in Fig. 3 of my application upon which Letters Patent No.320,633 were granted.

The conductor rail may be supported by means of transverse bars I),suitably connected to the screws (1, extending into theinsulatingbloeks, and by this means it is effectively insulated from thesupports or stringers A by insulators so arranged that a connection isnot liable to be established by the collection or lodgment of particlesbetween the conductor and its non-insulated supports.

The rail or conductor D may be of any suit able form or construction. Asshown, it is an inverted T-rail, and in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 it is shown inconnection with a contact-wheel, E, which will he carried by the car andrun upon the conductor. I prefer, however, in some instances to use acontact device in the form of brushes, or a roller contact device, asshown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which I is a frame carrying the journals offour rollers, c 6, arranged to bear and travel upon the opposite sidesof a conducting-rail, I). In this case the conduct ing-rail isdart-shaped in crosssection, so as to prevent the withdrawal of thecont-act device, which is drawn along the rail by a. flexible or otherconnection, i, with the car. Any other suitable contact device locked tobut sliding upon the conductor-rail may be employed without departingfrom this feature of my invention. Y

Dificulty has heretofore beeirexperienced in maintaining a circuit,owing to the interruption of the same by a collection of oxide upon thesurface of the conduct-ingrail. By forming the rail of phosphor-bronzeor other non-oxidizable material I am enabled to keep aeontinuously-unobstructed surface.

\Vithout limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement ofparts shown, I claim 1. The combination of parallel stringers,insulators suspended below each stringer, and a conducting-railsupported intermediately be- 4. The conductor enlarged at the upperedge, I 5 in combination with a frame, I, carrying contact-rollsembracing the conductor at opposite sides below the enlarged portions,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name 20 to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEO D AFT.

\Vitnesses:

JNO. N. BRUNs, F. HOLLY REED.

